


The Protector

by HolidayCat



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Death, Archer AU, Hunters & Hunting, Multi, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 13:31:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21447004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolidayCat/pseuds/HolidayCat
Summary: SkekSil may act all upper class in the castle, but out in the wilderness he's a bit different. One skeksis can only take so much of the cozy castle life before it starts to drain them, in more ways then one.
Relationships: skekGra/skekSo (Dark Crystal), skekMal/skekNa (Dark Crystal), skekSil/skekShod
Kudos: 15





	The Protector

The wind was blowing softly, making the leaves on the tree branch Sil sat on shiver slightly. It was a beautiful day out in the wilderness. Something the multi jobbed skeksis had missed with all of the days he had spent in that stuffy castle. Now he knew why SkekMal had preferred it out here in the open wild rather than the crowded castle. Although he couldn’t say much on it considering his other job had him staying in that very castle most nights if not all.

SkekSil often liked the attention he was given in the castle from being the emperor’s favorite, but sometimes even attention can be suffocating. Especially when most of it was negative. Thankfully no one would stop him from going outside in his archer gear… well no one would dare stop him from going outside as the Chamberlain either but that would probably arise many questions. The Chamberlain was meant to be this proper upper class skeksis that had no desire to rough it in the wild. At least that’s what he lead the others to believe. Let them believe that he would die in the wild in only a few days. If Sil was to ever be banished then it would be a real treat to see their faces as their archer left them. Poor SkekMal would have to take up most of the hunting if that did happen unfortunately, but the Hunter was tough. Tough enough that SkekSil was sure that pulling some extra weight wouldn’t be that much of a bother. Mal was always prideful, almost too prideful since he still had trouble admitting when he needed help.

Especially during times of hunting prey. Like right now; Sil’s ears & eyes trained on the high grasslands to the left of him. He had noticed some sounds of scurrying & had already concluded that Mal was on a chase right now. Sil’s eyes just double confirmed it when he saw the high grass fast movements. Now it was just time to watch the show go down. Sure Sil could help Mal kill the prey with one arrow but that would put a bounty on Sil’s head! SkekSil knew better than to kill steal prey that another predator was hunting. That was one of the unspoken rules about hunting. Never steal prey from another predator unless given permission. Even if the prey had slipped on pass, you still don’t take from another hunter! Unless you want to make an enemy that is & SkekSil certainly had enough of that at the castle, he’d rather not have one out here too.

Funnily enough that’s exactly how SkekMal found out about Sil’s secret second job. Sil had figured that he & Mal must’ve been hunting the same prey, because right when Sil was aiming for the kill, Mal had suddenly jumped out of nowhere & took it from him! By accident of course, even Mal knew of the unspoken rules to hunting & hadn’t noticed Sil until a few seconds later. Remembering it back now was like a dream, even though at the time it felt like a nightmare.

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FLASHBACK  
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So close, he was so close now. Just a few more seconds & this prey would be his! A damn shame he had to take off his living wood mask to see this particular piece of prey more clearly, but he knew he would’ve never gotten this far if he had let his mask get water logged with sweat. Stupid summer! This heat made it nearly unbearable to hunt in despite how fruitful the season always was for the hunters of the skeksis. Having to constantly hydrate even after so little as just tracking was annoying, but it was needed. Less Sil wanted his secret out after being put on one of the medical beds in SkekTek’s lab because he couldn’t be bothered to stay hydrated. No, Sil didn’t want that at all. If the others were to find out his secret then it will be done with his own tongue spilling it. Not because his body decided to be a douche & have a heatstroke. Focusing his attention back on his prey he aimed his arrow & was about to release when suddenly something jumped out from the bush opposite of him, nearly making him lose grip on the arrow he was about to shoot before something interrupted his catch. Steeling his grip on the unused arrow he slowly got to his knees & looked up to see who/what had taken his catch & that’s when his heart stopped beating for a moment. SkekMal. The Hunter himself was giving a triumph howl at the catch & then he stilled. Mal was sniffing, he could probably already smell the archer, which normally wouldn’t matter because like SkekMal; he was always around during these hunting seasons. No matter how much the archer had hated the heat, he would still hunt during this time. The Hunter liked his resilience.

Usually the archer’s scent was close by but not this close. It was like he was right behind him…. oh... oh no. Did Mal just really steal his prey? It was an accident! SkekMal quickly turned to the skeksis archer behind him to apologize. “Archer, this was your prey yeah? Look I didn’t mean t-” SkekMal stopped speaking as he just gazed at the archer’s face. No one had ever seen the archer’s face, never heard him speak even. The Archer was just silent most of the time & usually communicated with whistles. All other Skeksis just assumed he was mute. SkekMal studied the archer’s face, wondering where he had seen it before as it did look familiar to him, but from where? Then it hit him as soon as he got a look at the archer’s eyes. SkekSil, it had to be. There was no way it wasn’t! But… why was he out here? Didn’t he already have a cushy job? Before Mal could think more on it he noticed the arch- no the chamberlain put on the wooden mask that seemed to be magical as it instantly hid his eye color. The chamberlain’s usual yellow eyes turned green thanks to the mask’s ability. Although it was rather useless now as Mal already knew who the archer was.

“That won’t do you much good SkekSil. I already know.” Mal said to the other as Sil sighed & took off the mask. Now Sil was looking at Mal like he wanted to say something. ‘Oh this ought to be good’ thought SkekMal. After a few more seconds of silence Sil finally spoke. “You will not tell other skeksis about this, please?” Not tell? Why does it matter? Mal got closer to the other, surprisingly SkekSil didn’t shiver or move away from him. “Why? Why are you out here hunting instead of in the cozy castle?” That last bit sounded more like a lethal remark then a question. Sil understood why the Hunter was upset. After all an upper class skeksis would never get near such sweaty & dirty activities, but to Sil this was different. “Hunter, I know that other skeksis hate me enough to the point that they would have me banished, I want to know how to take care of myself if they were to ever succeed in their plan. That & I agree that the castle can get very stuffy. Friend SkekSil does not always enjoy castle life, can feel very closed off & cramped in there. Like to get out of that stuffy environment every now & then. SkekSil enjoys being Archer for many other reasons, including being able to hunt with SkekMal, but want to keep it private incase others get any ideas.”

Those reasons SkekMal could understand. Yes it was really no secret that many in the court did not care for SkekSil nor would many be hurt to see him leave. So if Sil wants to know how to hunt & care for himself in the wild, then why should Mal stop him? It was actually pretty smart of Sil now that the Hunter thought about it more. To actually take on the job of archer to better his survival skills, Thra he wished more of the others could be that intelligent. Then again maybe it was a good thing that no one else besides SkekSil would take the initiative to get better at their survival skills. SkekMal didn’t want to play babysitter after all. The other stuff made Mal sort of happy to know he wasn’t alone in thinking that the castle was too much of an overly cramped tent. Not nearly enough room to do any real hunting or let alone train. Couldn’t even sharpen his blades on the damn walls of that castle. What else was all the stone suppose to be used for? Walls? Pah! It made little sense to him. SkekMal thought a bit & made his decision. Mal looked over at SkekSil, taking a closer look at his features Mal noted that the chamberlain turned archer had dust & dirt on his clothes from laying in the grass & the hunter could see the other sweating from the heat. 

Sil did not look like any upper class skeksis right now, nor was he acting like it. SkekMal took a step closer to him before speaking. “Well you better put your mask back on archer, don’t want the rest of them to know who you are.” Mal said with a tiny bit of a smile on his beak. This had SkekSil let out a breath of relief that he didn’t even know he was holding. Sil graciously noded & reached for his mask, before putting it on however Mal spoke again. “Yeah I’ll keep your secret. Last thing we need is for the emperor to pull you from this. If those idiots want to lose twice the food then that’s on them & you need to keep up your survival skills. Who am I to turn away a fellow hunter?” 

Sil smiled as he put on his mask & rose to his feet, not even bothering to dust himself off. “Thank you.” Sil said although it was a little harder to hear as the mask made it sound softer. “Alright alright! Enough with this sappy shit, we’ve got some hunting to do.” The Hunter stated & grabbed the kill he accidentally stole from the skeksis Archer to give it to him but Sil declined. “We were both hunting it & you brought it down. It’s yours. We might have both been on it for who knows how long, but whoever deals the final blow should get the kill.” SkekSil said to his hunting friend who was more than pleased to hear this as Mal swiftly agreed, taking his kill back to the kill pile. Not long after, Sil the Archer came over to the pile to drop off his catch, which was a large yet lanky herbivore that was similar to an earth deer.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on the first chapter of this since last month & have finally found the time to upload it! Also there is totally a correlation between this series & my 'Moving With You' fic.


End file.
